Chapter 20
I had not chosen for him.
I forwarded the email to my attorney without comment.
She responded eleven minutes later.
Do not engage.
There is nothing to discuss outside counsel.
So I did not engage.
The next morning, the wedding video had millions of views.
I avoided social media.
Carter did not.
Not because he enjoyed gossip, he assured me, but because monitoring media exposure was part of his job.
I told him that sounded suspiciously convenient.
By nine, my communications team had received more than four hundred requests for comment.
We issued one statement.
Vance Global Holdings does not comment on Ms.
Vance’s private relationships.
No mention of Harrison.
No mention of the wedding.
No gloating.
No accusations.
Just silence.
Harrison apparently found silence unbearable.
Two days later, his attorney contacted mine.
The message was cautious.
Mr.
Cole wished to clarify certain elements of the financial settlement.
My attorney called me.
“Do you want my professional answer or my personal answer?”
“Professional.”
“There is nothing to clarify.”
“Personal?”
She laughed.
“Still nothing to clarify.”
I smiled.
“Can he challenge it?”
“Anyone can file something.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“Can he succeed based on the information I have?”
She paused.
“I see no legitimate basis.”
The answer loosened something in my chest.
“He is claiming he did not understand your wealth.”
“That isn’t concealment.”
“Correct.”
“He had counsel.”
“Yes.”
“He received disclosures.”
“Yes.”
“He waived further valuation.”
“Yes.”
“He negotiated aggressively for the assets he wanted.”
“Yes.”
I looked down at my desk.
“Then tell his attorney we have nothing further to discuss.”
“With pleasure.”
“Helen.”
“Yes?”
“Be professional.”
She sighed theatrically.
“You take all the fun out of law.”
The threat disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived.
Perhaps Harrison’s attorney explained the same thing mine had.
Perhaps he opened the documents he once refused to read.
Perhaps he finally understood that regret did not invalidate a signature.
Whatever happened, no petition followed.
Instead, Harrison sent me one final email.
It arrived six days after his wedding.
This one was different.
No accusations.
No legal language.
Caroline,
I reviewed the old documents.
I didn’t understand them at the time.
Maybe I didn’t want to.
I was angry for a long time about how successful you were, and I convinced myself your work wasn’t as important as you thought it was.
I realize how that sounds now.
I’m not asking you to change anything.